Restyled Toyota Avalon retains old-school appeal

Avalon in the market

Ian Merritt/Cars.com photo

Few cars in the Avalon's price range (starting at $32,445) provide more passenger room and comfort. Against the similarly pricedLexus ES 350, the Avalon gives you more room, better gas mileage and just as much luxury.

Few cars in the Avalon's price range (starting at $32,445) provide more passenger room and comfort. Against the similarly pricedLexus ES 350, the Avalon gives you more room, better gas mileage and just as much luxury. (Ian Merritt/Cars.com photo)

Steven Cole SmithTribune newspapers

With the introduction of the Toyota Avalon in 1995, replacing the Cressida, the company made it very easy for customers for whom a car is essentially an appliance. Toyota gives those customers three choices: small (the Corolla), medium (the Camry) and large (the Avalon).

None of the three is likely to appeal to automotive enthusiasts, but that's fine with Toyota. The company has done quite well with those sedan models, marketing them to people looking for a good value, dependability, traditionally strong resale value and styling that is handsome at best, unthreatening at worst.

With this choice of sedans, Toyota has also put into place a sort of cradle-to-grave philosophy: Corollas make great first cars, then those customers graduate to Camrys as the family grows, then the luxury and size of the Avalon appeal to older buyers. The typical Avalon customer is, shall we say, mature: Toyota's promotional literature for the mildly redesigned 2011 Avalon says the car's mission is "evoking a time when travel was sophisticated, elegant and comfortable."

All that applies to the 2011 Avalon, and every Avalon sold. Sales don't come close to Corolla or Camry sales, but the Avalon holds its own as one of a handful of cars that are actually rated "large" by theEPA, a designation made primarily on interior space. The Avalon has long been dismissed as a bloated Camry by its detractors, but that isn't fair. The Avalon is a genuine near-luxury car that offers above-average performance, even if the typical buyer isn't judging it based on its performance on twisting back roads.

The engine is a 3.5-liter, 268-horsepower V-6, mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission, plenty to move the 3,600-pound car along with authority. The EPA-rated fuel mileage is a decent 20 mpg in the city, 29 mpg on the highway (up from 19/28 last year), and regular gasoline is fine.

The interior and exterior of the 2011 Avalon have undergone what the automotive companies call a "refreshing," which is an inexpensive mild makeover given to a model that is midway through its production cycle. The Avalon is an attractive car, but even the P215/55R-17 tires and alloy wheels on the test Avalon look too small -- the tires on every Avalon ever made look too small. Outside, the 2011 has a new grille, headlights and taillights, and more chrome than last year. Inside, there's a new instrument panel, new rear headrests and a few other improvements. Safety is addressed by seven airbags, a new brake override system, stability control, traction control and antilock brakes with brake assist.

The 2011 Avalon is offered in two trim levels: The base Avalon, which is hardly a stripped-down car, and the Limited, which adds upgraded wheels, push-button start, rain-sensing wipers, upgraded lighting, temperature-controlled front seats, a power rear sunshade, a 12-speaker JBL sound system and a few other features. The base Avalon already has plenty of luxury features standard, including leather upholstery and a backup camera.

On the road, the Avalon's ride is, as you would expect, smooth and quiet. The suspension design isn't fancy, but it soaks up bumps and potholes, and is still firm enough for confident handling. Nothing about driving an Avalon will raise your blood pressure. Rear seat room is spacious, and the trunk is big enough to hold a welcome throwback to the olden days: a real full-size spare tire.

It isn't cheap, but keep in mind that the Avalon is one of the most sought-after used cars on the market. Its reliability rating is stellar, and older first owners tend to change the oil when they should, fix minor problems before they turn into major ones and essentially take care of their cars better than younger drivers. Toyota knows what it's doing with the Avalon, and its customers know what they're doing too.